New Website "Where's George"

As Labor day is fast approaching and the end of another summer is upon us, it's finally time for me to announce my new website and new plans.  I have been dreaming of a new adventure for a very long time, actually since I returned from Alaska my mind has not been the same, constantly trying to figure out how I could do a much longer trip and still maintain the family happy.  It hasn't been easy but I'm finally approaching the end of this long road.

I started thinking about designing a new website because of the limitations of blogger and also because of the name I am using for my current blog.  I already mentioned in a previous post that "Riding The USA" implies riding inside the US but this new trip was going to be over many countries.  First I started researching names and testing to see if the domain was available and of course checking Facebook and Instagram for similar names. After I had a name picked I registered the domain, the Facebook page and the Instagram name.  Soon after I registered another domain and ended up with two domains registered with their respective Facebook and Instagram pages.  I started getting followers on both pages on Facebook even though I hadn't announced either page.  I then had a dilemma, I liked both names and setup both sites identically including making the same posts on both with the same dates. After enlisting my family and a few close friends for their opinion, almost unanimously the first name I had picked was the one people liked the most.  With the name settled it is now time to announce it.

The first new website was setup over two years ago and the first post to test the design was done on May 14th, 2015.  The second post was done on September 28th of the same year.  Since then I have been tweaking the design, adding a few galleries to test plugins, added links to social media pages and most importantly adding a count down timer to keep me sane.  The day I added the timer and put in a preliminary departure date, the number that first appeared was slightly over 700 days.  Since then I have watched it slowly tick down the seconds, minutes and hours until it dropped below 700, then 600, 500, 400 and finally 300 days.   The counter stands as of today at 273 days to go.  Watching the counter is worse than watching grass grow as the saying goes but even worse is looking at the travel fund and not seeing it grow as much as I was expecting.

I still have a lot to do and plan before I leave but barring a major catastrophe or health issue the departure date will be sometime in June 2018.   For an idea of what my plan is, click on the "About" page and at the bottom you will see the "Dream".  Follow up post on this site and on the new website will describe my plan in more detail.  I will make posts about everything as the date approaches, from bike preparation, equipment I will use and route planning.
I chose this template for the website because I want the last five post's "featured" photo to scroll in slideshow fashion at the top.  Currently only two are sliding because there's only two posts on the site.
Please feel free to comment on anything you see wrong or you think I should address.   Your opinion is very much appreciated.  Now, without further ado:

Where's George Adventure

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

2016 was not a good year for me as far as motorcycle riding and 2017 is not looking good either.  I didn't do any long rides and I think I only ventured outside of New Jersey on my motorcycle a couple of times last year. It seems every year I hope the following year will be good for long distance motorcycle adventures but life has other ideas.  The lack of vacation time, work schedule, lack of money or family issues always conspire to change my plans.  I made one post at the beginning of 2016 and that was it for my blog. I started 2016 with great expectation but the year quickly turned into a bad year when my mom go very sick.

My beautiful mom in good health a few years ago and with me on Mother's Day 2016, just months before she found out she was sick.

   

In June 2016 I went to Portugal with my dad to take care of a few important things and returned on July 4th, Independence Day landing in Newark at 3.30pm, unfortunately I was one hour too late, my mom had passed away at 2.30pm, at home with my wife and my brother at her side.  I knew she was very sick when we left but never expected to turn so bad so quickly, it was a shock which I'm still recovering from.  I have always been very closed when it comes to showing my feelings, I keep them bottled up to myself but it does have a detrimental effect on my life and I'm sure it affects the way I interact with family and friends.  It has now been a little over a year, my mom is now resting in peace in Portugal with her sister and mom.

It has been a long sad road but life goes on, I'm still here, in good health, working and planning future motorcycle trips.  I have been planning for a major trip for over a year all the while trying to save as much money as possible.  I rarely go out on the motorcycle with friends because after adding up gas and food I always end up spending thirty to fifty bucks on a weekend and that will equal a day or two on the road of my future adventure.  Unlike a lot of adventurers that sell everything before embarking on long distance trips, I have to think about my family and a way to keep my home life going.  Property taxes are not cheap in New Jersey, for every month I plan on spending on the road I will have to keep aside almost $1000 for my property taxes.  Then there's the other expenses, water, electricity, gas and insurance to name a few and someone will have to take care of the lawn and the pool.  There's also college expenses from my son and for my daughter which will be a junior in college this year.  I'm driving an old SUV in order to save money and it will have to do until at least next year.  My wife is driving a nine year old car and I'm glad she can wait until later for a new car.  I would love to buy another motorcycle, maybe a Yamaha R1, the motorcycle I have always dreamed of, but that will just have to wait, life in NJ is expensive.

Too may obstacles along the way, I could just give up on my plans and settle for a mediocre life but that has never been me. I enjoy a good challenge and taking careful and planned risks to overcome any obstacle.  The calculator in my brain has been running into overdrive lately trying to put everything in place but I believe where there's a will there will be a way.  I have always loved this quote:

"There's nothing like a dream to create a future - Victor Hugo"

Why can't I do what I really, really want to do? Why settle when I can challenge myself to an amazing adventure and live an extraordinary life?

That first step has been taken and plans are underway for a much longer trip outside of the USA. I will continue this blog for my USA trips but I have created a new blog since it will no longer be about Riding The USA only. New Facebook page and Instagram account have been created. The countdown counter on the new blog started with almost 500 days to go but is already showing less than 365 days to go.

Soon I will announce my plans and my new blog.  I will put a link on this blog to the new blog and I hope you will follow me there. I thank you for your support and patience, I promise it will be worthwhile.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step - Lao Tzu"